Mortified—that was the only word running free through my brain as Axel Levine stared at me, too many emotions in his eyes to understand what he was thinking. And all of those emotions were, for certain, negative.

I couldn't say that I blamed him in the slightest.

I gulped. "Mr. Levine—"

"—Olivia, hm?" He moved from the doorway, escaping onto the terrace. A whiff of wind blew into his hair, shifting his fruity shampoo scent in my direction. "The makeup artist?"

I nodded, my voice disappearing into the depths of my sore, drying throat.

Giggles came from behind me, and I twisted to see Estelle and Mollie reemerging.

So they hadn't fled the scene, not completely; they'd been hiding on the other side of the hedge, waiting.

They were fixing their tops now, gushing. Estelle was blushing, Mollie rearranging her hair and removing a few twigs from the bushes.

From the way they peered at us, all innocence and sweetness, as if they hadn't been seconds away from fucking out here, I assumed they had no clue they'd been watched by Olivia and me.

The image of them with their dresses lowered and their beautiful breasts exposed would never leave my thoughts, whether or not they were aware of it.

"Oops," said Estelle, with a wink at me as she paraded closer. "Let's get back inside, babe." She linked hands with Mollie, who was grinning as she looked down. Together, they left the terrace.

Axel and I were alone.

I shuffled my feet, feeling like a sixteen-year-old who'd been busted sneaking out. "So, um..."

How long had Axel been there, beyond the curtain? What had he heard, what had he seen? Olivia must have dashed past him to get back into the party, so if anything, he'd caught the end of our conversation. He'd listened to me talking about Olivia and why we broke up.

Shit.

Axel crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, his gaze fixed on me. Not a gaze full of lust, like the last we exchanged; no, this one was pure fire. Rage. Utter disgust.

"Yeah, I saw and heard all of it. Well, most of it; not sure when you started ogling my sister, but I witnessed the rest."

"The...rest?" I shouldn't have asked for clarification. Of course he'd seen enough to incriminate me. Of course he'd know by now that I'd been lying to him for months about Olivia.

"Oh, I mean you standing there being fondled by her." He stroked his chin, his eyes narrowing. Not an ounce of warmth radiated off his body; only a chill of disappointment. "It was interesting, I'll admit. Well, until I understood you were being touched as you were watching my sister and Mollie. But," he chuckled, a heartless sound that alarmed me, "it wouldn't be the first time I caught someone interested in me and my sister."

I almost spat out must be the Levine charm, but this wasn't the best time to remind him or myself how attractive he was. Flattery wouldn't get me out of this situation.

"I'm..." My cheeks flared up. "I'm sorry. That you had to witness that, I mean. Me watching your sister...it was so unprofessional, so...beneath me to do something like that."

I clasped my hands and glanced down at my shoes, trying to not look at the spot where Olivia's hand had been moments ago. I still felt her imprint on my upper thigh, the sensation of her fingers swirling inside me.

He scoffed. "It was unprofessional, absolutely. I wouldn't say beneath you because, well, that's an insult to my sister. She's a beautiful woman and I'm proud of her."

"I'm sorry," I choked, my cheeks growing even hotter, "so sorry, and I hope you won't—"

"—fire you? Vivienne, I'm way too confused to think about that right now." He blew out a heavy breath as he peeled off the wall, walking up to stand beside me. I had to spin on my heels to keep an eye on him. "You know, I saw this makeup artist all up in your space, and at first, I thought to come rescue you, right? But then," he snorted, "well, I realized you liked it. And that..."

I held my breath, preparing for him to be disgusted. Pissed that I'd dare be infatuated with anyone but him. It'd be hypocritical and cruel, but as he liked to point out often, I didn't know him. For all I knew, he'd been screwing three different women at the same time, all while claiming to care for me.

"That turned me on. To see you on the verge of coming, succumbing to her...hot. Too hot. I won't pretend it wasn't getting me hard." He pointed towards his bulge, making me tense and, against my will, stare. "Yeah, I considered whipping it out and joining you. Or offering to take you both elsewhere for a threesome, maybe? I didn't know what you'd be into, but I was down to share. The makeup gal had a nice ass, I'll admit."

I tried not to spit out laughter, or curse at the fact that he found Olivia attractive. "Olivia is a lesbian. She wouldn't have accepted a threesome."

He flinched, put off by my comment. "In any case, other details came into play, and I immediately lost my erection. That threesome never would have happened."

I shuddered, picturing him near the door, pulling his cock out to caress it as he ogled Olivia and me. The notion was, as much as I hated to acknowledge it, arousing. It might have been a fun time, but Olivia was a possessive bitch, and had no interest whatsoever in penises.

"One," he used his thumb, "I saw you were watching my sister. No way would I stroke my dick while you were into her and Mollie. And two," he added his index, "you said this is why we're not together anymore, which made me realize...that was her?" His eyebrows lowered. "Olivia is the ex who hurt you?"

I nodded so fast, my head spun. My brain spun. Everything spun, as if the world were gyrating beneath my feet.

"And she's the makeup artist for the wedding?" He approached, but there was a rigidity to him that showed me he wasn't about to offer tenderness. "And you didn't tell me?"

I recoiled on instinct, as he was getting in my space, and I wasn't sure what he was going to do. Grab me, shake me, shove me against the wall, scream at me. The options were endless, and the flames in his eyes paralyzed me. "I didn't. It was stupid, but I didn't...I couldn't tell you."

"Why?" He ceased his approach and set his hands on his hips. "I could have helped you. Either made my sister choose someone else or ensured you two never had to see each other. There were ways, Vivienne, and you didn't trust me to assist with that. Why?"

To tell him why would worsen the situation.

Because I wanted to pretend she didn't exist? Because she'd disregard any rules he put in place, wanting to torment me? Or because, as she'd claimed moments ago, Estelle hired her on purpose, to toy with me?

I should have been asking why. Why would Estelle do that? Why was Estelle out to get me, when all I did was help her plan her dream wedding in three months or less? What had I done to deserve being on the other end of her cruelty?

"Look," Axel raised his hand, seeing that I was about to speak, "I can accept that you'd sleep with others during all this. You and I...we can't be together yet, according to your rules."

"According to our contract," I said, before biting the insides of my cheeks. Interrupting him was dangerous; I should have let him continue, allowed him to unleash all his thoughts about this, and he might have felt better. But every time I spoke, I saw the anger boiling within him, the steam rising. "These aren't rules that I set up. My boss did."

"Your boss." He released another nasty chuckle. "Your anti-feminist, narcissistic, chauvinistic boss tells you not to sleep with whomever you please, so of course, you listen to him."

"Axel!" I hissed, lifting my hand before lowering it, trembling, to my side. "He didn't make that shit up! There's a board with deep-pocketed and highly connected members, and this was voted on many years ago. I can sleep with whomever I please."

"Right. Your ex, for one. But certainly not," his nostrils flared, "me."

"Because I can't sleep with the person paying me for an event! Think about it!" Both my hands shook by this point, and I stuffed them behind my back to hide them. "It's indecent! It's...wrong, and you know that. I thought you agreed with it."

"I did, until I caught you fucking around with your ex, and lying about it."

The words cut right through me, sharp like a knife. I clutched at my belly as if he'd sliced me, half expecting to see blood. "Axel."

"What?" he barked, so unfamiliar, so crude. He'd always been so respectful. Even that night in St. Tropez, when I'd hurt his feelings, he hadn't been so verbally violent. So enraged at me, at something I'd done and said.

"Olivia and I haven't slept together." Why my voice was so low and soft, I didn't know, but his presence intimidated me, his anger scared me. I knew he wouldn't physically harm me, but with how deeply wounding his words were tonight, I knew he'd destabilize me, anyway.

He laughed, again with a devilish gleam in his eyes. "That's hard to believe. You were standing there as she had her fingers under your skirt, Vivienne. Do you randomly let exes do that, huh? While you're spying on my sister and her fiancée, you permit someone from your past to scooch on up and finger you?"

"No! It's..." My lower lip quivered, and I gritted my teeth to try to stop it. "It's more complicated than that. I've been over her for a long time, not talking to her, acting like she doesn't exist. And she casually shows up, a guest at the wedding, the makeup artist at the wedding, and I was...I couldn't...it was impossible for me to say anything. She'd lose a gig!"

"And why the fuck would you care, with how she treated you?" He glowered at me.

I took a step back. "She didn't—" My mouth closed, opened, closed again.

Axel was right; why did I care if Olivia kept the gig or not? If it was between her and me, I should have prioritized myself, my mental health. I should have known I could talk to Axel about it. He'd never been unapproachable.

"She didn't what?" The notch of his voice grew deeper, darker, filled with expectations. "Are you going to tell me she didn't treat you like shit? Because that would be another lie." He scrubbed his face. "You didn't tell me much about her, but you said enough. It was evident in your eyes that she'd fucked you up, and that you'd barely moved on. And," he huffed, "here she is, all up in your business. Literally."

"I've been avoiding her," I admitted, shaking my head. "Nothing has happened between us, and I wouldn't let anything happen. She kissed me the night before the engagement party, but I ran off. And then this, tonight—"

"—which you did allow to happen—"

"—but I was about to stop her!" My timbre broke out as raspy, crackling. The dryness finally took its toll and became painful.

"After you came all over her fingers," he added, snark in every word.

I had to lie. I had to clear my conscience, but everything was on the line. "It was...getting weird. She was taking it too far, and we couldn't stand out here and fuck with your sister and Mollie feet away, and..."

"Didn't seem to bother you much, from what I heard." His torso puffed up with air. "I know those sounds, those moans. Once upon a time, I garnered similar reactions from you."

Oh, I got it.

I understood.

No, he wouldn't fire me—because he was jealous.

He was jealous that he'd caught me on the brink of an orgasm from Olivia's touch. Not his.

"There's nothing between her and I, Axel." I cringed, wringing my hands. "There's attraction, maybe, but that's it. And it'll never go any further. I'm not in love with her anymore, I'm—"

He shook his head and shot his arm up, his palm facing me, silencing me. "I don't want to hear it."

"Axel." I deflated but slid sideways to dodge his hand and see his face.

I shouldn't have looked. I should have muttered another apology, groveled at his feet; but looking at him was the worst thing to do. The heaps of disappointment in his expression, the slumping of his shoulders was too much to bear.

He was so, so infuriated with me, but also so grossed out by my behavior. Upset, jealous, disturbed—I'd put him through so many emotions in one night, and they all hit me in the face as he scowled at me, unfiltered.

Everything was there. Every drop of confusion, fury, deception. I'd wounded him. I'd let my guard down, let Olivia in...and that had pushed Axel out.

"Axel, please." I dared a step forward, which warranted two steps back from him.

"No." He averted his gaze. "No, I can't do this right now."

I had no opportunity to rush in front of him, to attempt to bar his route. Before I could finish hiccupping, he disappeared from the terrace.

Had I lost my job and the man I was falling for, all in one fell swoop?

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